I wonder if I'm the only one who thinks Parkinson's advocacy groups are falling down on the job in at least one key area. We in the Parkinson's community are constantly encouraged to contribute money and contact politicians for the purpose of furthering "Parkinson's research." This "one size fits all" categorization is troubling in the sense that Parkinson's research has a decidedly Orwellian bent to it: Some specific areas of PD research are more equal than others.

The NIH has web pages that list various diseases and conditions along with information about clinical trials they are funding. Taking a recent look at their Parkinson's materials, I found a list of over 200 PD research studies, some recently completed, some in progress, and others on tap for the near future. While I did not make an exact count, I'd say that 70-75% of these research projects were along the lines of, "We've got this new pill and we want to know how effective it is in dealing with some aspect of PD."

Of course, it's understood that research into PD and other diseases/conditions is driven by BIG PHARMA, but the extent of the overemphasis on this sort of invasive, pill focused research is striking. A recent article in my local newspaper made a big deal of the fact that cognitive deficit related to PD was a neglected issue starting to engender needed research attention. And, yes, the reader is supposed to get excited that pharmaceutical companies are coming out with new medications to treat cognitive decline in people with PD.

The idea of new pills for treating cognitive loss in PD patients is especially laughable, considering drugs like Requip and Mirapex may well have caused the problem in the first place. And, by the way, Requip and Mirapex, while developed fairly recently, have been around long enough to merit some research into their possible long term negative effects. I don't see a rush to initiate this kind of study, precisely because it might hold a company accountable for a shoddy product.

Perhaps it is about time for PD advocacy groups to parse the whole business of a research agenda and make some value judgements based on variety and actual utility.